An efficient mycotoxin analysis to Aquaculture Feeds

Aquaculture feeds for omnivorous fish or shrimps nowadays contain mainly plant based proteins from corn, soybean meal, canola, rice bran, cassava, cottonseed or wheat as cost efficient alternative to fishmeal. As plant ingredients, however, are at high risk of mycotoxin contamination, a mycotoxin risk assessment with appropriate protection strategies to farmed aquaculture species needs to be in place.

Mycotoxins are a structurally diverse group naturally produced mainly by the secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi and are resistant to temperature (extrusion, pelleting) and decomposition (digestion) designed to remain in feeds intoxicating aquaculture farmed species. Poor storage conditions, high temperature and humidity are the main factors triggering mould growth with concomitant mycotoxin development in plant raw materials, such as corn, wheat, barley, rice, soy, canola, cassava and sunflower meals or DDGS (Distiller's Dried Grains with Soluble) and feed. As these conditions commonly occur throughout Asia, fish or shrimps fed with mycotoxin-contaminated feeds often show reduced growth performance, with increased immune suppression and mortalities.

Knowing that linking mycotoxin contaminated aquafeeds directly to fish or shrimp diseases is more difficult for aquaculture compared to livestock farming, feed raw materials need to be highly and efficiently quality-monitored. Aquafeeds containing aflatoxin (Afla), deoxynivalenol (DON), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN) or fumonisins (FUM) are standard- analyzed by HPLC or ELISA methods often taking several days until results are available.

A quicker method of quantifying the most common six mycotoxins is the Mycomaster. The analysis is easy to use on-site at the feed mill and provides reliable quantitative reading of the contamination levels in plant protein raw materials and complete feed. The low cost, rapid and reliable results provided by Mycomaster allows for more frequent analyses, compared with traditional analyses methods giving the feed manufacturers an efficient tool for high quality aquaculture raw material and feed assurance.